The training calendar for the Medically Fragile program is available here.

For more information, contact Lisa Casebier, Medically Fragile Program Coordinator.

Citizen Review Panel Statewide Meeting

On October 11, 2013, members of Kentucky's Citizen Review Panels met with Commissioner Teresa James in Lexington to discuss the Cabinet's response to their annual report. Commissioner James noted that she valued the work of the Panels and promised to engage them as she moved forward with her plans to more fully use community partners. Topics ranged from the Jefferson Panel's work around mandated reporting to the Statewide Panel's look at the centralized intake system. Commissioner James said she was especially grateful to the Southern Bluegrass group for taking the time to clean the local visitation rooms and have new toy boxes built for the rooms. "This is so meaningful for our children and families, as well as our staff," she said.

After the meeting, members gathered for the annual Fall Recognition Dinner. Every year, this event is used to honor those members who have gone "above and beyond" in their service to the Panels. Winners were chosen by fellow Panel members. "I am so proud of these winners," Program Coordinator Blake Jones said after the dinner. "Each of them is very deserving of the accolades that other CRP members have given to them."

Winners of the Kentucky Citizen Review Panel Member of the Year Award:

Jefferson CRP: Barb Stallard

Southern Bluegrass: Officer Chris Townsend

Statewide (pictured below with members of the Statewide Panel): Reverend Dave Jones

Doug Burnham, Program Coordinator for the TRC's Grandparents and Other Relatives Raising Children Training Project, has been instrumental in the planning of the12th Annual Grandparents As Parents (GAP) Conference. Doug serves as the Chair of the GAP Program Committee, which is responsible for selecting the speakers for this event. He will also be moderating two panels during the conference where people will share their personal accounts of being raised by grandparents and caring for children coming from substance abusing homes. This conference will be held March 20, 2014, at the Clarion Hotel in Lexington from 8:30am to 4:00pm. It is designed for grandparents and other relatives raising children, as well as professionals who work with this growing population. The featured speaker will be Dr. Malcolm Smith from the University of New Hampshire. He will address topics such as "The Meanest Generation: How Things have Changed and What to do About It", "Realistic Expectations Grandparenting", and "Understanding Bullying".

Conference attendees can expect to come away with a better understanding of how to keep kids safe today in our new technological world, how to discipline the traumatized child, new trends in substance abuse, self-care, how to advocate to increase support for kinship caregivers, how the legal process works, and mediation.

There are an increasing number of grandparents and other relatives raising children. About 64,000 Kentucky children are living with grandparents or other relatives. It is estimated that 60% to 80% of these children are living with grandparents and other relatives due to parental substance abuse. Most children living with relatives are doing so under some sort of informal arrangement. Without the relative having a legal sanction parents can remove children from their care at any given time. Yet, many grandparents and other relatives are not trusting of the courts and suspicious of state agencies.

The organizers of the conference hope to provide grandparents and other relatives with information and support to help them manage to care for the children in their home. The conference also educates professionals about the needs of these caregivers and how they may best be served.

The conference is open to the public for small registration fee. For more information about conference contact Doug Burnham at 859 - 257 - 4785 or burnham@uky.edu.

Medically Fragile Annual Training was held this past September at the Capital Plaza Hotel in Frankfort, KY. A total of 157 participants attended, including speakers, staff, and resource parents. There were a variety of speakers and topics. We are pleased to announce that the evaluations were excellent! To view the program booklet, which includes the topics and speakers from this event, please click here.

Panel discussion on "Youth Transitioning from Medically Fragile Care"

We at the UK College of Social Work's Training Resource Center are so grateful for the presenters who participated in this annual training. We'd like to thank each of them for donating their time and expertise to the Medically Fragile Training Program. They have helped to make possible our mission of providing quality training and relevant information to Kentucky's medically fragile foster parents caring for children with complex medical needs. Without them, our annual training events would not be possible.

We are currently working on the next annual training, which will be held March 27th and 28th in Frankfort at the Capital Plaza Hotel. This event is designed to mirror the Fall event, so that those who could not attend in the Fall receive the same great training and information.

The University of Kentucky College of Social Work's Training Resource Center (UK TRC) is dedicated to providing training, technical assistance, service, and evaluation to professionals and caregivers working to improve the well-being of families, children, and communities.

University of Kentucky College of Social Work Training Resource Center One Quality Street Suite 700 Lexington, KY 40507